Race
Report
2008 Fireball World Championships
Pattaya
Thailand – 68 boats and sailors from 10 countries took part in the 2008
International Fireball World Championships. The Royal Varuna Yacht
Club graciously hosted the two week event in the destination resort of
Pattaya. The first week was the Pre-Worlds or International Week giving
sailors a chance to get boats and crew tuned up for the main event. The
winds held steady for both weeks bringing constant velocities in the range
of 10 -14 knots. The wave and tidal flow provided challenging conditions
for the fleet, and even though the wind didn’t provide the range for testing
all abilities, the sailors were very happy to have sailed a total of 8
races in the first week, and 10 races for the World Championship in good
steady winds.
The
British team of 21 yr. old Matt Mee, and veteran Fireball crew Richard
Wagstaff won the event with a total of 14 points. British team of sail
maker David Wade, and Benjamin McGrane took the honors of 2nd place. Australian
team of Nathan Stockley and Sam Muirhead placed 3rd, followed by another
Australian team of Greg Allison and Richard Watson in 4th. Tomas Musil
and Jan Stantejsky from Czechoslovakia placed 5th.. The Aussies were coming
off of their summer sailing season were sailing strong placing 7 boats
in the top 15.
An
elegant awards ceremony complete with traditional Thai food, dancers,
a Thai puppet show, and song and dance from the infamous Tiffany’s show
topped out the event. The International Fireball continues to be a strong
dingy class world wide and attracts a wide age range of sailors. For more
information on the class contact [email protected]
